


Open Interlude

by oceanyeon



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Drinking, F/F, Smut, also kinda background samo but not really? theyre fucking okay, background chaeyu, but jihyo is a city girl, country girl au, kind of angst with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-07 11:36:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11058129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceanyeon/pseuds/oceanyeon
Summary: Jihyo's parents force their family to move from Seoul to the country in the middle of her last year of high school and Jihyo can't wait to leave them and her old life behind. Then she meets Jeongyeon, who works on a farm and is in love with how she lives. They both have to realize who they are and that what they want might not necessarily be what they need.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> summary is garbage sorry. i had a lot of fun writing this and it's the longest thing i've written ever (and it's not even done!!) so please enjoy. the beginning is a little slow imo, but...yeah. also there is smut but it's not as explicit as my jeongsa fic if you've read it. 
> 
> enjoy and talk to me on twitter @ jeongsamour or on tumblr @ shaosfantastic

Although the change in scenery from the tall buildings of Seoul to the openness of the countryside had been gradual, Jihyo still felt as if she had been thrown out of her previous life and into an entirely new one.

The decision to move wasn’t her own. In fact, she had rejected the idea immediately when her parents first brought it up. But if they had any idea to take their daughter’s feelings on the matter into consideration, they quickly changed their minds. Her mother tried to sway Jihyo over to their side. They just made a new addition to the family, Jihyo’s newborn sister, and her mom said something along the lines of “wanting to get out of the city life and raise her child properly.” Jihyo didn’t want to think about what that meant about her. If the way Jihyo turned out was enough convincing for them to uproot their lives and start over, then she had no chance of changing their minds.

Jihyo didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with her. Sure, she could be a bit antisocial, but she talks when it matters. She excels in school and doesn’t get into trouble often. However, her socialite parents found these traits to be… Not entirely desirable. In their world, success came from connections and connections came from human interaction. 

As if on cue, her mother’s voice came from the passenger seat of their van. “Look at all of the children playing outside! Our baby Jisoo will have so many friends,” she swooned.

Outside of the car, nothing could be seen besides a few traditional style homes and an open expanse of land. Small children chased each other and wrestled, all of them in their own blissful world of play. 

“It’s nice to see kids still playing outside these days. Technology is starting to rot our brains,” her father pitched in. Jihyo’s dad was firmly against technology and it was probably his plan to move out of the city in the first place. She could see how the thought of country living could appeal to him. What she couldn’t understand, though, was the drastic change in character. As if she had gotten new parents overnight. 

They were both successful in their careers. Her mother worked in a law firm and her father was a head accountant for some marketing team. They lived an above average lifestyle and never worried too much about money. Once their new child was born, it was as if something snapped inside of their heads and they realized that the life they lived wasn’t enough. 

To Jihyo, their life was just fine. There was nothing that needed to be changed. 

Yet here she was, in the back seat of the car followed by several moving trucks that would eventually arrive at their new home in a small town.

Their new home was likely far older than Jihyo or her parents. It wasn’t disgusting, but old-fashioned was written all over the walls and wooden floors of the place. It was large, but not as big as some of the homes Jihyo had grown used to seeing. 

Her dad walked up the steps of the front porch behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I know you might be upset, but I really feel like this will be a good thing for the whole family. Just give it a chance.”

Jihyo smiled the best she could and nodded. “I’ll try. It’s just… a lot to get used to.” He nodded in understandment and turned back to help her mother and sister get the essentials out of the car.

It was a lot to get used to. Her room hadn’t been fully furnished yet and all she wanted was to crash and sleep. This would be her only day of rest, considering that they’re forcing her to start school the very next day. As if her parent couldn’t be more considerate after making her change schools in the middle of her very last year. Luckily, all college exams and recommendation letters had been done at her old school, so that was no longer a concern. The only thing that made this move slightly bearable was knowing that she’d only have to stay for a few months. After graduation, she could move out to university and start her own life. 

Her own life.. was nice to think about. She couldn’t explain her constant itch to run, to get the hell away from her parents and their expectations. It felt as if every passing day was another slow ‘tick’ on the clock. The closer Jihyo got to freedom, the slower the clock went, and the stronger the urge to just leave it all behind. Sometimes she felt bad for wanting to leave, but it never lasted long.

Standing in her new room full of boxes was just a reminder this wasn’t where she wanted to be.

\--

Something about the day felt different.

It could be the fact that class had technically started about ten minutes ago but the teacher hadn’t arrived yet. Somehow, the “rule” that if a teacher didn’t come within the next 5 minutes, then everyone could leave had spread from desk to desk. It sounded too ridiculous to be true. Nevertheless, Jeongyeon was determined to keep her fellow classmates entertained.

Someone had started a contest where whoever could keep the most markers stacked together up in the air wins. Jeongyeon had gotten to 11 markers, two more than her previous record. The chants of her classmates to add just one more marker to the the stick egged her on as she reached for the pink marker on the teacher’s desk.

“Is this a senior homeroom class or a preschool? Jeongyeon put those markers down!” The sudden shout from the teacher entering the classroom caused the short haired girl to fumble the stack in her hands, making all of the markers hit the wooden ground with a loud smack. Jeongyeon stood nervously in the epicenter of her scattered markers. “Sorry, ma’am,” she managed to say through laughter. She looked over at her classmates to see that they were also struggling to keep their mouths shut. Pride swelled in her chest from being the source of amusement. 

Her teacher rolled her eyes and sighed. “Please just get to your seat. I have an announcement to make.” Jeongyeon bowed and shuffled back to her seat in the middle of the classroom.

“Everyone,” the teacher continued. “We have a new student joining us today. It’s the middle of the year so please try and make her feel comfortable.”

Shifting in her seat to get a good view, Jeongyeon stared interestedly at the new student.

She had long, light brown hair that waved ever so slightly around her round face and soft bangs that seemed to shade her large eyes. She was fairly tiny and looked so tense that she would probably snap in half from the smallest force.

“My name is Park Jihyo. Please treat me well. I look forward to spending the rest of the school year with you all.” She gave a deep bow, but her voice was so terse and polite that it was hard to tell if the girl truly meant what she was saying.

Jeongyeon wasn’t the only one to have these thoughts, because someone replied: “She sounds like a robot or something.”

There were a few snorts and giggles but Jihyo seemed unfazed. The teacher shushed them before turning to her new student. “Where are you from, Ms. Park Jihyo?”

Jihyo’s eyes shifted nervously. She didn’t seem prepared to answer such a simple question. “I’m from Seoul…”

All of her classmates had something to say now. Mumbles and whispers echoed through the whole classroom, but the subject of every conversation was clear. Jihyo was a big city girl who just moved into probably one of the smallest towns possible. There was no way she’d survive here. No wonder she was so uptight. 

The reaction of the entire class was enough to make the new girl stare at her feet and fold her hands in front of her. The teacher quieted down the class once more before showing Jihyo to an empty seat toward the edge of the room.

Jeongyeon didn’t quite know what to make of the girl. Even though she wore the same uniform as everyone else in the school, she seemed to stand out. One look at her and anyone could tell that she didn’t belong amongst them. Most people at their school had lived in this city all their life and Jeongyeon was no exception. New people tended to come from other small towns and typically blended into the community well. But Jihyo was a new breed entirely.

\--

She knew she stood out like a sore thumb around her new peers. 

Which was a disappointment because Jihyo even went light on her makeup and let her hair down instead of putting it into her usual high ponytail. She figured that if she looked a little more like everyone else, she could avoid being stared at and just go through the rest of the school year unnoticed. Of course, the universe offered no such luck. 

Everyone regarded her like a fish out of water and Jihyo felt as if she really was drowning in air. Keeping her head down to her desk did nothing. She could still feel their eyes and hear their whispers. Her only hope at this point was to wait until they finally lost interest in her, and there was no telling how long that would take. These were students who found amusement in making towers of markers. It could be months before they realized that there was nothing fascinating about Park Jihyo. 

Most first days of school didn’t involve being the center of attention, but Jihyo figured that she was just too unfortunate for a peaceful day. However, the anxiety of the day seemed to begin to fade on her walk home from school. Not wanting to get there too fast and and talk about it with her parents, she took her time down the peaceful roads. She looked inside various corner stores and eyed the menus at some of the mom and pop restaurants. 

The school sat in the heart of the town and the shops around it made it the more active part of the community. Even still with it being rush hour, the amount of people walking around was nothing compared to even the more isolated parts of Seoul. 

Jihyo found herself stumbling upon a large farm near the outskirts of the main part of the city. She inhaled quickly at the sight of several cows so near the fence. The city girl had never seen animals like this up close before, besides dog, cats, and the like. Their big, round eyes seemed to beckon her toward them and she tentatively stuck a hand out to pet them. She hadn’t known cows to be dangerous or anything, but with her luck, one of them just might decide to snatch her hand off.

When her fingers finally brushed one of them on the neck and it showed no sign of dismembering her, Jihyo relaxed and ran her hands along its coarse fur. “At least you don’t want to make my life worse,” she mumbled to the cow.

“Can I help you with something?”

Jihyo jerked away from the cow and spun quickly to face the source of the question. She stood behind Jihyo, wearing a red flannel with its sleeves rolled up to her biceps. In her arms was a large woolen bag full of who knows what. 

The girl sat the bag down and brushed her short, blonde hair away from her face with one hand. “If you need to speak to Ms. Bernette, she’s out of tow-” 

“Uh, no. No, sorry. I was just…” Jihyo waved her hands around, signaling at nothing in particular. “The cows, I mean. I had never, um. Sorry, I’ll go now.”

As Jihyo reached down to grab her bag the girl got closer. “You’re the new girl in my class, right? Park Jihyo?” She leaned against the fence, tucking one leg behind the other. 

Jihyo sighed. Of course the one person who walked on her talking to a cow would be in her class. “Yes, I am. Sorry, I don’t know who you are, I was kind of…”

The girl nodded and turned her gaze to the animals behind them. “I understand. Miss Popular doesn’t need to know the names of little people like me.”

The accusation made Jihyo stiffen. “N-no! That’s not-”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” the other girl laughed. “I’m Yoo Jeongyeon. If you haven’t noticed, I like to joke around a lot. My bad.” Her smile was genuine and the way she spoke to Jihyo, like they weren’t complete strangers, made her feel slightly apprehensive.

“You’re the girl with the markers,” Jihyo said blankly.

Jeongyeon laughed again. She seemed to be filled to the brim with it. “Yeah, that was me. I suppose that’s a pretty descriptive first impression. You, on the other hand…” Her sentence trailed off as she eyed Jihyo.

“I know, I’m a stuck up city girl. I’ve heard everyone in class talking, it’s not a big deal, I’m fine with it.” She could feel her defenses building back up as she continued on, beating Jeongyeon to the punch of calling her out for her ridiculous introduction earlier that day.

Jeongyeon blinked in confusion. “I was going to say that you seem nice. The cows like you well enough, and they tend to be pretty good judges of character.”

Now it was Jihyo’s turn to be confused. “I’m- uh… the cows?” 

The girl nodded. “Yup. Salt and Pepper are very intuitive,” she said while rubbing the heads of the cows.

“Their names are Salt and Pepper?” Jihyo snorted. Jeongyeon stared at her after her brief moment of amusement and smiled.

“Hey, I didn’t name them. I’m just the farmhand here. Well, actually,” she mused looking around the field. After finding what she was looking for, she point across the fence to a smaller cow that was sleeping in the shade of a large tree. “That little one, I helped Miss Bernette birth her and she let me name her. That’s Legos.” She smiled at the memory.

“Legos is a worse name than Salt and Pepper,” Jihyo replied. She realized that her cheeks were starting to hurt and hadn’t noticed that she was smiling along with the girl. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she genuinely smiled.

Jeongyeon shrugged. “I really like legos.” They stood quietly for a moment, petting the cows and sneaking glances at each other. Jihyo had never met a girl like Jeongyeon before. She seemed to give of this cool and mature aura, but her actions reflected none of that. She fit the role of a country girl well, with her muscled arms and tanned skin from doing work out in the sun. Her genuine warmness gave off the hospitality vibe that Jihyo thought only existed in movies. 

“You know you can come back here any time.”

Jihyo hadn’t realized she was staring until the taller girl spoke up. “I work here every day after school and most Saturday mornings,” she continued. “ You seem to like the animals a lot, so…”

The invitation hung in the air in front of Jihyo. It completely went against her whole plan of just going to school and laying low for a few months. But she saw no downside to coming to the farm after school with Jeongyeon. She was nice and their conversation didn’t mentally drain her like most. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

Jeongyeon smiled, this time with all of her teeth showing. “Great! I mean, maybe you’ll get to meet Legos. She’s my favorite, and not just because her name is Legos. ”

Laughter forced it’s way passed Jihyo’s lips. “I’d love to meet her.”

\--

Jihyo is a lot different from the persona she puts on, Jeongyeon realized.

She wasn’t sure of the girl herself knew it, but she could be pretty exciting at times. She noticed this when Jihyo comes by the farm one afternoon like she had been doing for the past few days. Jeongyeon had never once thought to wonder if the apples at the top of the tree tasted better than the ones at the bottom. 

They spent the afternoon egging each other on to climb higher and higher in the tree. Jihyo had refused to stop. She had to “uncover the mystery” of apples. 

The idea was ridiculous, but Jeongyeon couldn’t find any complaints when she leaned against a firm branch eating an apple while overlooking the view of the town from the top of one of the trees in Miss Bernette’s orchard. Jihyo’s eyes seemed brighter then, and her usually neat hair was tousled from the climb. Jeongyeon reached over to pick a stray leaf out from her locks. “You’re starting to look like a real country girl now,” she teased.

Jihyo grinned at that and Jeongyeon swore her heart wasn’t located in her throat before. “Shut up,” she mumbled over a bite of apple. They weren’t that much different from the ones at the bottom.

When Miss Bernette had finally returned from her trip to headquarters of her business, Jeongyeon was showing Jihyo how she fed the chickens and cleared out their eggs. At the new face, Jihyo seemed to shrink into herself and turned back into the girl Jeongyeon had met on her first day.

“Welcome back, Miss Bernette! How was the trip?” Jeongyeon greeted, pressing a comforting hand to the small of Jihyo’s back. She flinched from the touch at first, but soon eased into it and relaxed her muscles.

The owner of the farm was a nice woman in her late 40s who had offered Jeongyeon the job back when she first started high school. Her family ran this farm for generations and Miss Bernette was the one who was able to spread its reach to other supermarkets outside of their town.

“You know I’d rather be out here helping you than doing corporate stuff,” she sighed and smiled as she hugged Jeongyeon. “But it looks like you’ve got some help already! Who’s your friend?”

Jihyo shifted her weight on her feet and straightened out her back. “I’m Park Jihyo,” she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper and Jeongyeon couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Jihyo was finally starting to loosen up around her but now it was like they were back at square one.

“You know,” Jeongyeon interrupted. “All the cows here really like Jihyo. And she climbed in the orchard!” The shorter girl looked over at Jeongyeon as if she had lost her mind but she ignored it and continued. “She’s really something special, like you’d say.”

Miss Bernette smiled. “She sounds like it! And you look real good with numbers, right?”

Jeongyeon snorted, “There’s no way you can tell that just by looking-”

“Actually,” Jihyo piped in. “My dad’s an accountant and he taught me the basics. I’m going to University for accounting soon as well.” She looked over at Jeongyeon and gave a smug little grin that she had never seen before. It was as if she was slowly letting her read more and more and Jeongyeon was hooked on every word.

“See there, child! I told you I’ve got that sixth sense,” the farm owner laughed. “How about, since you come here everyday anyways, you work for me keeping up with my accounting books. I can never bring myself to do them before the last minute.”

Jeongyeon bounced in her spot. “Jihyo, we could work together! Come on, please!” She intertwined her hands in the other girl’s and gave her the best puppydog face she could manage. Jihyo stared at their hands for a while, which made a small anxious feeling bubble in the pit of her stomach. When she finally looked up smiling, Jeongyeon could feel a small air of relief escape from her lungs. 

“Sure, why not?”

\--

Jihyo doesn't mind that her days begin and end with Jeongyeon. 

In class, their seats are a few rows apart but they spend lunches together by trading off food or sharing when one of them has something good. After school, they walk to the farm together and Jihyo will trail behind her coworker with a book of sales while the other does her chores.

When they finish working, they head to Jihyo's place(it's the closest) and work on their homework together. It's a comfortable routine they fall into easily. Almost as if they had been doing this their whole life.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Jeongyeon said while skimming her math homework on the floor of Jihyo's room. She was stomach flat on the rug with her head propped up by her right hand while her left absentmindedly drummed a pencil on the ground.

Jihyo had just returned from the kitchen with bottled water and a few apples for the two of them. Apples had become kind of their thing now. “Yeah, what's up?” She sat cross legged next to the blonde girl and began looking at her own work.

“It's not too hard for you working with the accounts is it? I don't want you to stress yourself just to be at a job with me.” There was a small hint of guilt underneath Jeongyeon's voice.

Jihyo gently pushed the other girl on her shoulder. “Who says I'm working there just to be with you, huh,” she teased. Though she knew it wasn't too far from the truth. Truthfully, Jihyo wouldn't have even considered working on a farm if it hadn't been for Jeongyeon. “It's not a stress at all. Miss Bernette does really well with her money already. Makes my job easy.”

Jeongyeon nodded and smiled, rolling to her side be able to look at Jihyo more directly. “Yeah? Well she is probably the richest person in this town. Well maybe not CEO or lawyer rich, but she's like a millionaire compared to us.”

The brown haired girl shrugged. “In Seoul everyone is an actual millionaire. And are actual CEOs.”

“No need to be a millionaire out here. You'd just be sitting on money all the time,” Jeongyeon replied with a snort. Her gaze shifted to something distant that the other girl could never see. “I think that's why I like it here so much. Life is so simple.”

Jihyo blinked. “Where's the fun in that?” When Jeongyeon turned her eyes back to Jihyo, she could feel a cold shiver run down her spine. “I- I just mean. There's always something going on in the city. That just seems more exciting.”

The other girl shrugged. “Too much excitement.” She rolled over to her back with her hands behind her head and winked. Jihyo smacked the girl's side and rolled her eyes.

“You're so weird,” she grunted as she shifted her position so that she was able to rest her head on friend's stomach. They lied there on the floor of Jihyo's room for a while. Staring at the ceiling and listening to the gentle hum of the house’s fan system. 

Jeongyeon shuffled to prop up her torso on her elbows. Jihyo glanced up at her. “Hey, um,” the short haired girl mumbled. “The town is having a fall festival thing this weekend, you know? I have to help Miss Bernette set up her booth and stuff, but after that I'm free to do whatever… Did you want to come with me?” At the last few words of her sentence, her voice trailed away ever so slightly as she shifted her attention to her wiggling feet.

“A fall festival? Sounds exciting,” Jihyo said, continuing to stare at Jeongyeon's face even though the girl refused to return her gaze.

“It will be. There's food and rides and shops and fireworks and… very exciting.”

Jihyo nudged her elbow into the girl's stomach. “You sure it won't be ‘too much excitement’ for you, Jeongie?” she teased. Jeongyeon looked at her then, and her eyes were slanted from a cheeky grin. 

“Whatever, Park Jihyo,” she snorted and flicked her on the forehead with a pointer finger.

She laughed and pressed her cheek into her friend’s stomach. “I'd love to go with you.”

\--

Jeongyeon's walks home were usually in the dark now, compared to the days before Jihyo.

This was how her life could be separated now: Before Jihyo and After Jihyo. 

She had been in a constant routine of school, work, then home. Now it was something new everyday, like climbing apple trees or going to the fall festival as a date.

No, not a date. Just friends going together. 

There are a lot of things Jeongyeon refused to think about now as well, but it wasn't hard to distract herself from those thoughts.

“I'm home!” she shouted as she entered into the small house. She removed her shoes and bag near the front door and shuffled her way into the kitchen.

Her sisters, Seoyeon and Seungyeon, were already home, moving fluidly through the room to prepare dinner.

“I swear you get back later and later every time,” Seoyeon remarked while chopping vegetables. “What could you be doing on a farm this late, huh?”

Seungyeon shook her head. “Our baby sister actually has a friend now! Her name is Jihyo, right?”

“Yeah, we hang out sometimes,” the short haired girl mumbled in embarrassment. She grabbed a chair at the table and propped her feet up on the table. “We’re going to the fall festival together this weekend.”

“Aww, what!” Seoyeon exclaimed slamming her knife on the table. “We always go as a family.” Her face contorted into a dramatic pout.

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. “Can you not slam knives on the counter? And you can survive one night without me. We do live together, you know.” She turned her attention to her cellphone screen that had just lit up from a recent text message.

‘Godjihyo: you make it home alive? or should I send out a search party?’

She smiled widely and sent a response that, yes, she was alive, and no search was needed. She could feel a tug in her heart from being worried about by her friend. Jihyo could pretend that she didn't care, but was truly a huge softie.

“Are you even listening to me?” Seoyeon interrupted. She smacked her sister on the head with a wooden spoon, causing Jeongyeon to yelp in shock. “What happened to our loyal sister? You don't even hang out with us anymore!” 

“Let Jeongyeon have friends, Seoyeon,” their oldest sister sighed. “No one complained when you ditched us for Sungmin.”

“Sungmin is my boyfriend! Jeongyeon isn't dating her friend!” 

Seungyeon rolled her eyes at her sister’s complaining and turned her attention back to the food. When Seoyeon realized she wasn't going to be defended, she gave the youngest a mock expression of hurt and returned to help with dinner.

Jeongyeon felt a sickness spread through her entire body starting in her stomach and making her way up to her throat. “I'm not feeling too well,” she said quietly. “I think I'll head to sleep.”

“You won't eat?” Seungyeon asked.

“I ate at Jihyo's.”

Her sister shrugged and nodded. “Food will be done soon, if you change your mind.”

She removed herself from the kitchen, turning the corner to make her way to her room. The sick feeling, however, didn't go away. Jeongyeon steadied herself against the wall that separated the kitchen to try and ease herself before going to bed.

“Seungyeon,” she hears her sister mumble in the room adjacent. “Don't you think that's a little, I don't know. Weird?”

“Leave her be, Seoyeon.” 

“That's not something you can just ignore! How can you just act like this doesn't matter?”

“Maybe it doesn't.”

The mumbles become more indistinguishable as Jeongyeon quietly removes herself from the area thinking that, for the first time in her life, she agreed with the middle sister.

This was not normal.

\--

Jihyo spent more time looking for an outfit than she'd like to admit.

What was she even supposed to wear to a fall festival? Traditional dress? Or was everyone going to be in some country bumpkin getup? Regardless, Jihyo didn't own any clothes like that, and she'd stand out among the crowd. Again.

People didn't stare at her as much as they used to. Jeongyeon said it was because she was starting to blend in from working on the farm. She thought it meant that it was because her skin was getting darker, but the short haired girl shook her head.

“It's not physical. You just give off the vibe more.”

The memory made Jihyo smile. They had gotten ice cream together that day as a treat for acing the test they had studied for. Jeongyeon had insisted on paying for the both of them, and she agreed only if she could treat them the next time.

The other reason she couldn't decide on an outfit was because of Jeongyeon. She didn't know why Jeongyeon of all people influenced her decision making process, but she found herself wondering if the girl would like a particular shirt over another, or maybe she'd think a dress was cuter?

In the end, she decided for a simple black blouse that exposed her shoulders and a maroon skirt. It was simple enough to be casual, but girly enough to be somewhat formal, she thought. 

“Jihyo! Jeongyeon is here!” her mother called from the front.

Jihyo's parents loved Jeongyeon probably more than they loved their own daughter. How could they not love the girl who finally got their antisocial child out of the house and made her a friend? Not to mention, the girl was extremely polite and always offered to help cook whenever she came over. Even her baby sister, Jisoo, seemed to love her friend who would always play with her when their parents were busy. It was safe to say that the Park family had basically adopted Jeongyeon into their home.

Jeongyeon stood at the front door being fussed over by Jihyo's mom. The girl had dyed her hair to a caramel brown and wore a pair of jeans with an orange sweater over a light blue collared shirt. The colors and the warm light from their house accented her skin and her cheeks almost seemed to glow. She was truly stunning. 

“I overdressed, didn't I?” Jihyo sighed as she walked over to her mother and Jeongyeon.

“N-no! You look amazing!” her friend stammered. “That skirt is so cute.”

She smiled and toyed with the flares of the skirt. “Yeah? So you do have a fashion sense after all.”

Jeongyeon lightly punched her arm. “Yeah, yeah, sorry for not being in tune with the times, city girl.”

They left the house side by side and Jihyo wondered if there was ever a time where she had felt this light.

\--

Jihyo was not real.

The way her eyes would light up at a particular food booth or the way her pleading voice when she wanted something could be mistaken for a song was not the traits of any living thing. 

Festival lights danced across her brown skin that had never looked so addictive to Jeongyeon. She walked with an airy feel and her skirt seemed to twirl around with her movement. It accented her like wings on an angel.

“Don't I look like this Jigglypuff?” Jihyo said, holding up the plushie they had won together at one of the many game booths they had visited that night.

“Nah,” Jeongyeon mused. “You're way cuter.”

It might've been the lanterns casting the girl's face with red as she smiled up at Jeongyeon.

She doesn't remember at what point throughout the night they had started holding hands, it just felt right. Like they had always been holding hands. Regardless of when they started, she knew she didn't want to stop. 

“It's getting dark, the fireworks will start soon,” Jeongyeon said. People in the crowd had started to head toward the large section of field to settle down for a view.

Jihyo wrapped herself around Jeongyeon’s arm and squeezed it tight. “Let's get a good spot then!” 

The field was fairly large, so it wasn't hard to find a spot with enough distance between them and everyone else. Children ran in packs through the crowd yelling and playing. A few families had set up blankets and chairs.

Jeongyeon had brought a small blanket herself to keep their legs away from the insects and cold lawn. Jihyo sat on it delicately, folding her legs beneath her and fixing her skirt to cover her thighs. Jeongyeon, in contrast, splayed her legs out in front of her, leaning back on her hands.

“I don't think I want this night to end,” Jihyo mumbled. Jeongyeon could feel the girl shifting closer and closer until she was able to comfortably rest her head on the short haired girl's shoulder.

She gripped a little tighter on the the blanket beneath them. “Everything ends, eventually.”

This prompted a groan from Jihyo. “Gosh, Jeong. You're so damn depressing. Plus, you're wrong. We aren't going to end.” She said while shifting closer and leaning her head on the girl's shoulder.

“I mean, one of us could die or…”

Jihyo shoved the girl away from her. She toppled over to her side, partly from the push but mostly from laughter. When Jeongyeon hadn't stopped rolling on the blanket in tears, Jihyo gripped her body and shook her forcefully.

“Stop laughing, Yoo Jeongyeon! You aren't funny!” Despite her words, Jihyo couldn't help but to laugh herself. 

Finally, Jeongyeon stopped laughing and calmed herself down with a few deep breaths and sitting back up on the blanket. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” she grinned.

The smaller girl scoffed. “Sorry my ass. I was trying to be cute.”

“Guess that didn't work out, huh?”

Jihyo smacked her arm hard, eliciting more girths of laughter from Jeongyeon. “Stop being cheeky!!!”

“Make me,” she snorted.

Even though Jeongyeon was still laughing, Jihyo had gone quiet. It was as if everyone in the park had decided to leave and the two girls were the only ones left.

Jihyo's gaze was transfixed on Jeongyeon, and she felt a strong twinge of anxiety. “What is it?” she asked, finding it more and more difficult to look into her huge eyes.

“Make you?” There was no tension or urgency in her voice. Just pure curiosity. And a layer of something else.

“I-it was a joke,” she stammered. Was Jihyo this close a second ago? She couldn't keep flickering from her eyes to her lips and then back up again and somehow the air gets so thick that she's struggling to breathe. Jihyo doesn't give her a chance to take a breath before she closes the gap between them and pushes her lips onto Jeongyeon’s.

Jeongyeon decides she doesn't need to breathe and kisses her back. Jihyo's hand that's found itself tangled in her short hair pulls them in closer so that their foreheads touch. They could fight it for a while, but the need for air caused them to separate. 

Their foreheads were still touching and Jihyo's hand had slid down to her neck as they slowly caught their breath. The first few pops of fireworks had already started but they couldn't bring themselves to tear away.

“Come on,” Jeongyeon whispered. “Let's get out of here.”

They wrapped up the blanket and grabbed their bags. Jeongyeon interlocked her fingers with Jihyo and smiled as they scurried through the crowd. Running in the dark, away from the forgotten light show and ignoring the festival goers, Jeongyeon wondered when she had ever felt so free.

\--

As Jeongyeon struggled to open her front door, Jihyo couldn't stop herself from pressing her lips all over the girl's face and neck.

“My sisters won't be home for a while,” she had whispered into Jihyo's cheek.

She hummed in response. Too focused on trying to take off her sandals at the front door and keep some kind of contact to the other girl's skin. Jeongyeon had a similar idea, and kept an arm wrapped tight around her waist while she kissed up and down her neck.

Jeongyeon's lips were so soft and delicate. Jihyo had never thought you could miss something you'd never had. That didn't stop her hands from lifting up the other girl's shirt, over her head and tossed to the side, searching for skin that she so badly needed to touch.

“Wait,” Jeongyeon mumbled, grabbing her hands. “Let's go to my room.”

Jihyo didn't waste any time, tugging at Jeongyeon's wrists and dragging her to the room. She had only been in her room a few times before, but never while pushing Jeongyeon backwards into her bed while tugging on her lips.

She straddled her lap now, her hips sliding against Jeongyeon's legs and her mouth releasing moans without her permission. Jihyo wasn't entirely sure what she needed so badly from her if she had never had it in the first place. Jeongyeon seemed to understand, though, and her palms rubbed up and down her thighs gently. With each slide up, she got closer and closer to where Jihyo wanted her the most.

“What if,” she breathed into Jeongyeon's mouth. “Your sisters- fuck!” 

Jeongyeon was circling slowly with a thumb over the fabric of her underwear. Jihyo leaned her hips into the motion, her breath heavy and warm between the two.

“We tell them to mind their fucking business,” she snorted while removing her skirt and panties. They slide off with ease and Jeongyeon couldn't help but to run her hands down Jihyo's torso and up her thighs.

Jihyo grinned at her. She knew the girl was joking and could never say something like that to her older siblings, but the thought was arousing in itself. “Such a naughty girl,” she teased. “Come here.”

She laughed as she pushed Jeongyeon into the bed. The girl was making panting noises with her tongue poked out. “I didn't mean like a dog, you weirdo,” Jihyo mumbled before putting her mouth over the rise of her breast.

Jeongyeon was still breathing heavily, but not in the joking manner she had been before. Her hands tangled themselves in Jihyo's brown hair as she slid a slow tongue over and made her way down the slender torso.

She couldn't get enough of Jeongyeon's body and how it reacted with every brush of her fingers or slide of her tongue. Her skin was so soft and pliant as Jihyo grabbed at every inch of her. When Jihyo kissed between her legs, the girl let out the sweetest moan that only made her more delirious.

This was a side of her that only she had seen and the thought makes Jihyo want to leave her mark all over Jeongyeon. To let the world know that she was and will forever be the only one who could see someone so beautiful completely open.

When Jeongyeon comes into her mouth, her back is arched and her thighs squeeze the sides of Jihyo's head. Jihyo rubs her sides gently to get her to relax her muscles. She pulled herself up to the girl's face and dots kisses on her cheeks and jaws and finally her lips.

“I think I'm in love with you,” Jeongyeon mumbled into her neck as she pulled her body in close.

“Yeah? How'd you figure that?” 

The short haired girl ran her fingers up and down Jihyo's side, tracing the curve of her hips. “Not sure. But I don't really want to question it.”

Jihyo sighed blissfully. Her lidded eyes were no longer able to keep themselves open so she decided to give in to their will.

“I think I love you too.”

\--

An angel was in Jeongyeon's bed the next morning. 

Sunlight poured into the room from her windows and cascaded the sleeping girl with a yellow halo. Jihyo's normally perfect hair was a light brown storm across the pillow and her face. 

Not wanting to wake her, Jeongyeon slid out of the bed slowly to put on a t-shirt and shorts. The smell of the automatic coffee maker invited her into the kitchen.

Jeongyeon's entire body ached in a good way and she couldn't stop running her fingers over her lips when she thought about the night before. Jihyo made her heart feel heavy but also like she could run for miles and miles. This was the side effect of having something that shouldn't belong to her, she supposed.

Her sister Seungyeon was already in the kitchen. By Jeongyeon's standards, she was up later than normal. The short haired girl was usually up before the sun and her sisters. Seungyeon was already dressed in her day clothes and hunched over a newspaper on the counter.

“Good morning,” Seungyeon greeted.

“Good morning,” she replied. “You made coffee?”

Her sister nodded. “There's enough for your friend too.”

Jeongyeon didn't respond, just stared in the mug cabinet unmoving. She inhaled deeply and looked at the back of her sister's head. “How'd you know I had a friend over?”

Seungyeon shrugged. “Lucky guess. Also her shoes are by the front door. Seoyeon and I noticed them when we got back.”

She wanted to make herself feel like everything was okay. That Seungyeon said “friend” and that she didn't suspect anything. But she also knew that her sweater was not neatly folded on the couch when she came home last night. There's not much else anyone could expect from that.

Jeongyeon couldn't think of anything to say to defend herself or deflect the conversation. The silence in the kitchen stretched on while she poured two cups of coffee.

"Thanks," was all she mumbled while walking back into her room. She could feel Seungyeon's eyes boring into the back of her head making guilt start in the pit of her stomach.

When she made it back to her room, Jihyo was already awake. Her previously naked body was covered by one of Jeongyeon's shirts that was slightly too big for her tiny body. She was too cute for words.

Jihyo smiled when she walked into the room and positioned herself upright under the blankets. "I missed you," she said while pulling the comforter up to her face as if she were embarrassed. "Are you okay?"

Jeongyeon slid into the bed beside her and placed a kiss on the top of the other girl's forehead. "Of course. I brought coffee." She handed Jihyo the cup and watched her drink from it with a smile on her face. Jihyo didn't break eye contact with her as she drank the coffee slowly. Her gaze roamed Jeongyeon's face, studying it.

"You're kind of beautiful, you know?"

She couldn't bring herself to worry about her sisters or the possible problems that could arise from loving someone as perfect as Jihyo. Not when she could melt after just being called beautiful. Her love for the brown-eyed girl was more than the shame she felt because of it.

"You're pretty good looking yourself."

\--

The past few months of Jihyo's life reminded her of the first time she had moved from Seoul.

In class, she could feel the eyes of her peers on her back. Anytime she entered a room, everyone would look at her and then at the ground as if they were just talking about her.

Although it was the same situation months before, Jihyo didn't feel the nervousness that came with it. The only opinion she cared about now was Jeongyeon's. They spent almost every second of every day together, even going so far as to change seats so that they were next to each other in class.

Jeongyeon, on the other hand, didn't seem to be taking their new attention that well. Because of this, they never really showed affection in public.

"People are staring at us," she mumbled while they ate lunch together. Jihyo had just fed her an apple slice, running her thumb across the girl's jaw afterward.

“They always stare,” Jihyo shrugged. “Might as well give them a show, right?” She slanted her eyes mischievously and puckered her lips for a kiss.

Jeongyeon pushed her face back with a finger. “Stop that…” she said, glancing around to make sure no one had seen. 

Sighing, Jihyo leaned away from her girlfriend and back into her seat. She knew that Jeongyeon was just scared about how everyone would react. Even though she was something of a class clown, negative attention could make the girl shut down. Jihyo tried not to think too much about it when she rejected her touches or refused to kiss her. 

Jeongyeon seemed to sense her unease and reached across the table to grab her hand. “Hey, I'm sorry,” she said and kissed Jihyo's fingertips lightly. “You know I'd kiss you if we weren't in public.” When Jihyo nodded, she smiled in relief.

“I just can't wait until we leave this place. I can kiss you whenever I want,” Jihyo said, grinning at the thought.

The other girl nodded slowly. “Yeah. Graduation is in a few weeks.”

“And we'll go to University together. You got your acceptance letter and stuff already, right?”

Jeongyeon’s eyes were no longer on hers as she picked at her food. “No… I haven't.”

Jihyo blinked in confusion. “I helped you send in your application months ago. You should've gotten it by now. Maybe we should call.”

“I don't know,” the other girl sighed. “I hadn't even really made up my mind if I want to go anyway.”

“What are you talking about?” Jihyo snorted. “Quit joking around. I'm serious.”

“And I'm serious too, alright?” The short haired girl’s voice was tight as she stared at Jihyo. “I never had plans on leaving here. I told you that when we first met.”

“You're my girlfriend.” She saw Jeongyeon cringe at being called “girlfriend” and look around the room. “I thought you wanted to be with me.”

The other girl's voice was lower now, barely above a whisper. “I do want to be with you. I just thought… I don't know.”

“Bullshit. What did you think, Jeongyeon?”

“That you'd change your mind about going to school in Seoul. There are plenty of colleges down here. It's stupid to go so far.”

Jihyo couldn't believe her ears. “We've been talking about leaving for months! I don't want to live where I can't even fucking kiss you in public! Why would I want to stay here?”

Jeongyeon was looking up at her now, her gaze solid as if she had already made up her mind. “Because you're happier here. Your whole family is. If you want to go back to being the robot you were back in Seoul, then you're crazy.”

“Stop insulting me, Jeongyeon,” Jihyo hissed. Her eyes were starting to burn from the tears building up. She blinked to keep them away. “If anyone is crazy, it's you for wanting to stay where we can't even be in a relationship outside our own house. And barely then! You won't even tell your sisters about us!”

“You won't tell your parents about us either,” she countered.

“That's different and you know it. Your sisters already know, Jeongyeon! Especially Seungyeon. I'm tired of hiding in your room!”

They stared at each other silently for a while. A few of the other students were watching them out of the corners of their eyes. 

Jeongyeon finally spoke up. “Maybe if we have to hide, we shouldn't be doing it.” Her voice was barely above a mumble and Jihyo had to think about it to see if she had heard her correctly.

“What... are you saying…”

“You really don't believe this,” she gestured between the two of them. “This relationship, is okay, do you? I'm just saying that… there's a reason we stay quiet about it. It's not normal.”

Jihyo watched Jeongyeon look at her then at her hands. “You're ashamed of me.” When the other girl didn't reply Jihyo shot out of her seat. “I cannot believe this shit. You can't even accept yourself, yet you're trying to tell me that I'm wrong.”

“Don't talk to me about accepting myself,” Jeongyeon countered. “You're the one running back to Seoul for no reason. You'll just be miserable again.” 

“Fuck you, Yoo Jeongyeon. Keep your self-hate away from me.”

Jihyo didn't know what hurt more: leaving Jeongyeon there or the fact that she didn't try to bring her back.

\--


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter than the first chapter

Even though they had the same class and lived in the same town, it's wasn't hard to ignore Jihyo until the end of their last year.

Jeongyeon had moved back to her original seat and fell back into the routine she had before they had met. Her sisters seemed puzzled when she started coming home hours earlier, but didn't question it. 

She studied how Jihyo behaved, even if she scolded herself for it. Park Jihyo was still a good student, despite everything. She answered questions in class and even managed to keep a high class rank.

Jeongyeon hated to admit that she was struggling to keep up. Her grades slipped a little; a result of no longer having their after work homework and study sessions. She made good enough grades to graduate and get into a community college not far from her house.

Of course, words often get to Jeongyeon quickly in such a small town and she hears about how Jihyo is taking a plane to Seoul months before the semester even starts. Apparently she had gotten her own apartment.

“That's good for her,” was all she said when her sister had told her the news.

Seungyeon was observant, and the fact that she hadn't said anything before was honestly a shock to Jeongyeon. “What happened between you two?”

Saying that nothing happened was about as bold faced of a lie that Jeongyeon could use, but she used it anyway. Seungyeon stared at her for a while like she always does and nodded.

“You can always talk to me.”

“Okay.”

\--

Jihyo's first taste of freedom came when she arrived in Seoul.

Being around so many buildings after the openness of the country was daunting at first, but she quickly got used to it. Her apartment was within walking distance to campus and surrounded by convenience stores. 

Her first night eating dinner alone, she expected to feel some kind of loneliness. That feeling never came as she ate in front of the tv, with the volume at level she wanted and the couch all to herself. 

She still thought about Jeongyeon often. And how they had planned to go to her sister Seoyeon’s wedding together that summer. Jihyo loved weddings. But she was determined to start a new life of her own in Seoul without any baggage, even if the baggage was the first and only person she loved. So she pushed Jeongyeon to the furthest corner of her mind.

The summer went by quickly for Jihyo after she got a job in the library that will carry over to the fall semester. It was a low maintenance job compared to working on a farm, but it kept her distracted.

For the most part, Jihyo kept to herself. Only speaking to people when they needed help at the library or if someone initiated small talk. So it surprised her when some girl next to her in the first day of calculus class decided that they were the best of friends.

The girl had long pink hair that actually accented her nicely. Her skin was pale and she gave off an aura of confidence that Jihyo had never seen on a person before, much less a small woman.

“This class is going to be literally the worst,” the girl groaned. She looked over at Jihyo and smiled to signal that she was talking to her. When she smiled, Jihyo could see bunny teeth that she found somewhat adorable. 

“Maybe,” Jihyo replied. “I kind of like math.”

The girl seemed impressed and Jihyo could see the gears turning in her head. “Is that so? Well then, it's a good thing you and I are study partners.”

“Uh, we are?” She replied blankly.

The pink haired girl nodded. “Mhm, we meet twice a week at my place.”

Jihyo blinked and stared at her. “I don't…know where you live…?”

She sighed. “I'm asking you to be my study partner, genius. Maybe this was a bad idea.”

“Oh..oh!” Jihyo buried her face into her hands to cover the red forming on her cheeks. “I feel so dumb. Sure, we can study together, um…”

“Im Nayeon,” she smiled.

\--

Seoyeon’s wedding was full of family and beautiful. 

Jeongyeon was one of her bridesmaids, of course. She doesn't know how to feel about the long, backless pink dress her sister picked out for her to wear, but everyone at the reception said she looked beautiful so she tried to believe it. It was hard for compliments to reach past the surface anymore.

She tried her hardest to ignore the empty space next to her at the table which had been reserved for Jihyo. As the reception went on, Jeongyeon studied every detail of every speech and dance but the space only grew emptier and emptier.

Until it wasn't. 

A tall man had quietly snuck into the seat next to her. He had long hair for a guy that was pulled away from his face in a neat bun. “I'm sorry if this seat is taken,” he said politely. “But I hadn't seen anyone here all night.”

“It's not taken,” Jeongyeon replied, staring at him with a slight curiosity. “Did you need something?”

He smiled at her and Jeongyeon felt like she should respond in some way, so she smiled back. “I'm Hongbin. The groom and my brother are best friends.”

She dipped her head. “Nice to meet you. I'm Seoyeon's sister, Jeongyeon.”

“I hate to sound creepy, but I know who you are. My brother forced me to introduce myself. He said you looked sad.” After a few seconds of them staring at each other, Hongbin sighed. “God, that sounds so creepy.”

“Super creepy,” a voice says from behind Hongbin. Jeongyeon looks up to see a tall, slender girl who could very likely be a model. “Is she going to come with us? Chaeng is getting bored and I think I’m close to joining her.” 

“Come with you?” Jeongyeon asked looking between the newcomer and Hongbin. They're both stunningly attractive and she found herself picking at her fingers.

Hongbin nodded. “We're going to a carnival not too far from here. Thought you might want to come with us, since we're all around the same age and what not.”

“It's was my idea,” the tall girl beamed.

Jeongyeon gave a polite smile. “I can't just leave my sister’s wedding, sorry.”

“Sure you can,” Seungyeon interrupted from across the table. She looked at her younger sister with eyes that told her not to object. “You should go out and have fun.”

Hongbin looked between them to see if there would be any disagreement. When there was none, he spoke again. “Great! You could borrow some of Tzuyu’s clothes. She brought her whole closet because she didn't know what to change into.”

The girl called Tzuyu smacked his shoulder. “I was in a crisis,” she mumbled.

The both of them and Jeongyeon's sister were staring at her expectantly, waiting for a response. Seungyeon seemed persistent and Hongbin and Tzuyu were so nice and welcoming, she felt she had no choice but to agree.

Although she and Tzuyu were about the same height, the younger girl was a bit skinnier. Jeongyeon borrowed a pair of black leggings that stretched and a baggy red sweater from her.

Hongbin had a car that they rode in together with Jeongyeon in the front seat and Tzuyu and her friend, Chaeyoung, in the back. She found it interesting how she had spent the entire summer alone and now she was going to a carnival with complete strangers. It was a change of pace that seemed daunting at first, but now that she was actually doing it, the change was welcome.

The carnival was full of roller coasters and game booths. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were balls of energy, going from table to table with their arms linked. Jeongyeon and Hongbin lagged behind the younger girls, talking about school and their families.

“Is Tzuyu your sister?” Jeongyeon asked while the other girls had sped to a food stall.

“Half sister,” Hongbin replied. “But I watched her grow up. She's as much of a sister to me as she could be.”

She nodded, not taking her eyes off of the pair. “And Chaeyoung?”

“She's Tzuyu's girlfriend.” His voice was a slightly tense when he replied. “That's not a problem for you, is it?”

“No! They're…. they're cute.” Jeongyeon noticed the long haired boy release an exhale of relief. He motioned for her to sit next to him on a bench.

“I'm very protective of them,” he continued after she sat down. “It's hard on them. Being so young and in a small town.”

“Yeah… I know.”

“You know?” he asked looking at her with his head tilted slightly.

“I mean, I can imagine,” Jeongyeon replied quickly. She couldn't explain why she felt so defensive to someone who was apparently so accepting. Perhaps he was only so open to it because it was his sister. She didn't know how he'd react to a stranger. “It's good that they have someone who's willing to fight for them.”

Hongbin smiled at her and took her hand into his. “I really like you, Jeongyeon. I'd like to get to know you better, if that's okay.”

Jeongyeon stared at their interlocking hands. She hadn't thought about the boy in any sort of romantic way all night, and his sudden confession was a shock. But when she looked up into his face, she figured that he was attractive and nice and she could like him if she really tried. Maybe. It didn't feel like Jihyo, but it was likely as close as she could get. 

“Yeah,” she replied. “That's okay.”

\--

Nayeon's apartment was in the same complex where Jihyo lived. It was a student dominated area, so that didn't come as a surprise to her.

What did come as a surprise was the sound of Nayeon's front door being slammed open while they studied on the floor of her bedroom.

“I thought you lived alone?” Jihyo asked.

“I do,” she said rolling her eyes. “That would be my constant annoyances.”

As she finished her sentence, two girls came tumbling into the room shouting Nayeon's name and toppling her over with hugs.

“We missed you, babe!” a girl with blonde hair squealed. She looked over at Jihyo and blinked. “Who is this?”

“Momo, Sana, this is my new study partner I told you guys about, Park Jihyo.” Nayeon lifted herself up off of her back and pointed to the girls in turn. “Jihyo, this is Momo and Sana.”

Apparently, the three had known each other since middle school, with Nayeon being a year ahead of them. They were inseparable. So much so that Sana and Momo followed the oldest to college and got an apartment in the same complex.

Sana was staring at Jihyo curiously and she couldn't help but shift uncomfortably from her gaze. Her eyes were piercing and her black hair made the brown of her irises stand out.

“I think I've seen you before,” Sana finally said. “You live in our building, I think. I watched you move in.”

“Stalker, much?” Momo teased while wrapping her arms around Nayeon's waist and making herself comfortable on the floor beside them.

“I thought she was pretty!” Her voice was shrill and childlike as she defended herself and it was so cute Jihyo almost melted. 

Nayeon patted the black haired girl's thigh. “That's okay, I thought she was pretty too.” She looked up a Jihyo and winked causing her to blush a little.

“You guys are too much, really…” Jihyo mumbled and distracted herself by looking at her textbook.

“She should come party with us,” Momo chimed in. “Four cute girls is guaranteed entry to any club. Even the ones downtown.”

Sana squealed and excitedly shook her friend from her brilliant idea. Nayeon smiled and looked over at Jihyo. “You want to?”

Jihyo shrugged. “I've never really partied before.”

“Never? Now we have to take her out,” Momo gushed. “You can borrow my clothes.”

They all get ready at Sana and Momo's apartment, which is kind of a mess in the girly way where there are clothes and stray earrings everywhere. Momo lets Jihyo borrow a black crop top and skirt. It would definitely look better on the other girl, Jihyo thought as she watched her get dressed. Momo had abs and curves that seemed sculpted by God himself.

“Ooh, you look so good in that,” Sana said while putting her hands on Jihyo’s stomach. They were a very touchy group of girls, she realized. Momo and Sana especially. Jihyo had asked Nayeon if the two were dating but Nayeon smiled and shook her head.

“No, not really. They're just close. Really close, you know?”

“Oh,” was all she could say. Never mind that the two girls were definitely feeling each other up in the backseat of Nayeon's car on their way to the party.

The party was held at someone's house. When she asked Nayeon whose home they were walking into, she shrugged and pulled Jihyo into the kitchen. There were bottles upon bottles and a huge bowl of punch that definitely had more than just fruit in it.

Strangers milled in and out of the kitchen, most of them already drunk or getting there. A few of them recognized the three other girls and would wave or hug as the passed by. The pounding of the music from the living room could be felt throughout the house and the dim lighting made it almost impossible to see. Jihyo barely kept up with the girls, holding tightly onto the oldest girl's hand.

Nayeon was an experienced drinker and seemed determined to teach the three younger girls how it was done. She handed them all cups full of an unidentifiable beverage and ordered them to drink. 

“You're having fun tonight,” she yelled over the pounding beat of the music. She looked Jihyo in the eyes and lifted her hand to move a strand of hair out of her face. “Okay?”

Jihyo nodded and took a sip from her cup. It tasted like normal fruit punch, and it was easy to down the cup in a few short minutes. Which was probably the biggest mistake she made that night.

She had never been drunk before, and the feeling of alcohol in her body was something new. Her body was light and free, floating from person to person and engaging in conversation. She probably had never spoke this much in her life. Even though the feeling was new, she couldn't shake the thought that had felt this way before, but couldn't remember when.

Nayeon had grabbed her hand suddenly, pulling her into her arms. “You like to wander, huh?” she whispered into her ear. “Don't you know not to be alone at a party?” 

“Sorry,” Jihyo flushed. “I just feel… so good.” When Nayeon smiled she felt her stomach turn into knots. Her body wanted to be closer and she had no choice but to oblige. 

The pink haired girl had somehow dragged her to the main part of the gathering. Nayeon was a great dancer and better at holding her liquor than Jihyo, who could only sway with her to the beat.

Their bodies were so dangerously close and Nayeon was grinding her behind on Jihyo’s front and the alcohol was making every touch feel like fire on her body. “Ah… Nayeon,” she whispered and partly moaned into the girl's ear.

“Hmm? What's up?” she turned around so that they were facing each other and wrapped her arms around Jihyo's waist.

“This is a lot, I think,” she managed to breathe out. Whether it was the party, the alcohol, or Nayeon that was too much for her. Probably all of it.

Nayeon hummed. “Maybe throwing you into a party like this was too much. Do you want to leave?”

Jihyo felt bad for being a party pooper and needing to leave before the party before it even started. But Nayeon sounded so understanding and Jihyo doesn't think anyone's ever looked at her with so much care. “Yeah. I don't like all these people.”

The older girl nodded. “I'll go find Sana and Momo.”

The two girls in question had managed to get shit faced drunk in the half hour Nayeon and Jihyo were gone. They stumbled together to the car, holding each other up and laughing about probably nothing. 

“Are you okay to drive?” Sana slurred, poking Nayeon in the cheek. “If not, you KNOW I can do it for us.”

“I think not,” Nayeon snorted, pushing her back into the seat with a hand to her black head. “And I didn't drink anything.”

“What happened to ‘having fun’?!” Momo whined.

“That was for you babies,” Nayeon said. Her voice sounded teasing but Jihyo could tell her eyes were full of adoration. “I've partied enough for all four of us.”

“At least drink when we get home,” Momo yawned. She was starting to wind down from the party, resting her head on Sana's shoulder.

When they finally made it back to Nayeon's apartment, Sana and Momo all but fell on top of each other on the sofa. Sleep took over them quickly as they laid in a bundle of limbs and hair.

Jihyo made herself comfortable at Nayeon's table, resting her head on her arm and watching the other girl as she moved through the kitchen.

She was the oldest of all of them and took something like a motherly role in the group, but Nayeon was more of a kid herself. Jihyo found it adorable to watch her stand on her tippy toes to reach two glasses from her cabinet. All of her plates, bowls, and cups were brightly colored like something out of a toyhouse. 

Nayeon returned from the kitchen with two full glasses of some drink she mixed herself. She placed one in front of Jihyo and pulled a chair up next to her. The glass she picked for herself was pink with bunnies painted on it. “It's juice mixed with vodka, if you want some,” she said while taking a sip herself.

Lifting her head up, Jihyo brought her glass to her lips. Her initial high from the drink at the party had cooled down some and she was able to speak properly. At least, as properly as she could with Nayeon staring her down.

“What is it?” she asked curiously.

Nayeon sighed before speaking. “I just think you're cute, that's all.”

“You sound upset about that,” Jihyo replied with a laugh. 

“I am upset,” Nayeon groaned. “It makes me want to kiss you.”

She stared quietly at the pink haired girl as she sulked into her seat. Jihyo had never kissed anyone that was Jeongyeon. The thought of her ex girlfriend made her stomach churn and her fists clench. “Who said you can't kiss me?” Jihyo asked boldly. She felt a surge of confidence, but she couldn't help but feel like she was pushing down something.

Nayeon glanced up slowly, then forcefully pushed herself onto Jihyo's mouth. 

The kiss started out rough and fast, with Nayeon biting at her lower lip and grabbing at her face to pull them closer. But when Jihyo wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, she eased into it and sighed into her mouth. 

Kissing Nayeon was so different from kissing Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon was soft and more or less submissive to what Jihyo wanted. But kissing Nayeon was like a game of tug of war, and her lips had a flavor that was so addicting and sweet. It drove Jihyo a little insane.

When they pulled apart for air, Jihyo almost fell over from dizziness. The older girl caught her in her arms and sat her back upright in her chair. 

“You can sleep here tonight,” Nayeon said, brushing her black hair from her face. “I don't want you walking home in the dark.”

Jihyo nodded gratefully and followed, or stumbled, after Nayeon. When she realized they were going to her bedroom, she froze. “Um…”

The older girl turned to look at her and seemed to notice her embarrassment. “Hey, we're just sleeping. You're drunk and I'm not an asshole.” She smiled and reached out her hand for Jihyo to grab hold to.

Jihyo was sure she'd never seen anyone more beautiful in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk when you can expect the last chapter but i already have it all planned out and some of it written! feedback is always welcome 
> 
> twitter @ jeongsamour


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry this took so long!!! all of your nice comments on here and twitter have made writing this worth it for me, so thank you!

Jihyo didn't know what to think of her dates with Nayeon.

She didn't even know is she could classify them as “dates”, but what else was she supposed to call their lunches together and then nights they slept at each other's place (doing nothing, Jihyo would embarrassingly confess).

Nayeon would even bring her breakfast, two jelly donuts and an apple juice, every morning before their shared math class. But they weren't dating. Jihyo knew this for a fact because she had asked Nayeon once before while they were studying.

“Nayeon, are we dating?” Jihyo said, her voice solid and clear as day.

“I have to use the bathroom,” was the older girl's immediate reply. She had tried to make it seem like she didn't hear Jihyo's question, but Jihyo wasn't dumb or dense and could take a hint.

If Nayeon didn't want to date, then that was fine. But she would have to explain why she was always kissing Jihyo and rubbing her thighs under the lecture tables in class. She guessed these behaviors would be typical of someone who wanted to be friends with benefits, but they weren't getting any “benefits”. At least on Jihyo's end.

“Does she hate me that much?” Jihyo groaned before leaning her head back to rest between Sana’s legs and against the couch. 

Nayeon had invited them all over to watch a bunch of old timey movies with her for her film history class. They were all comfortably tipsy after a few glasses of cheap wine, but whenever Jihyo made a move closer to Nayeon the older girl would shrug her away. This time she had excused herself saying that all the alcohol was making her have to pee. 

Sana tutted and stroked her fingers through Jihyo's hair. “Aw, Nayeon likes you! Even if she's acting all weird, I can tell.”

Jihyo sighed in reluctant belief. “Sure she does.”

The couch shifted as Momo got into a more comfortable position with her head rested on Sana's shoulder. “This was probably our fault, Sana,” she said. “Remember, we made fun of Nayeon for getting crushes too quick? And now she's doing a shitty job at playing hard to get.”

Sana let out a long, drawn out “ohh” and looked down at Jihyo with eyes full of sympathy. “Sorry then, this probably is our fault.”

“It's been, what, two months since I met her? How long is she going to keep at this,” Jihyo sighed.

Momo shrugged. “Maybe she just doesn't want to get her feelings hurt.”

“How could I hurt Nayeon's feelings?” Jihyo asked, partly joking but mostly concerned. She received no further understanding when Momo shrugged again and turned her attention to the movie.

When Nayeon returned, the three of them turned their heads to her direction causing her to stop and stare back.

“What? Did I do something?” she asked innocently.

Sana and Momo were both saying “no” and shaking their heads in a pathetic attempt to cover up that they were all just talking about her, but Jihyo's voice was louder than the the two. 

“Yeah, you did,” she replied, not breaking eye contact with Nayeon. “Actually, you did something by doing nothing.”

Nayeon snorted and folded her arms across her chest. Her nose was crinkled up like it does when she's got something smart to say. “I'm confused. Did I do something or not?”

“Momo and I should go!” Sana cut in abruptly, jumping to her feet. The action caused her to knee Jihyo in the back of the head and shove Momo to the other side of the couch.

“Fuck, Sana!” Jihyo groaned as she held her head where the other girl's knee had connected.

“Sorry!” she squeaked and yanked Momo by her wrist to lead her out of the door. The whining of the girl being more or less dragged was followed by a quick slam of the door, leaving Nayeon and Jihyo alone.

She could feel Nayeon's eyes on the back of her head, and, for some reason, all of the confidence Jihyo had for confronting her had left with Sana and Momo. “Those two really are something else,” she said keeping her eyes on the carpeted floor beneath her.

Of course, of all the things Nayeon refuses to let go of, the situation at hand was one of them. “You didn't answer my question.”

When Jihyo looked up, the older girl was walking closer to her. She didn’t look upset or angry as she took a seat on the couch and signaled Jihyo to sit beside her. 

For the first time since her outburst, Jihyo found herself looking into Nayeon's eyes. She was reminded that the pink haired girl is definitely older and more mature by her open demeanor; as if she was ready to deal with any conflict between them. Her round face and soft skin were so comforting that Jihyo almost forgot that they probably should be having a serious conversation.

“You're really pretty,” Jihyo murmured as she reached up to brush her fingers along Nayeon's jaw. 

She could tell this had gotten the older girl flustered when she bit her bottom lip and looked away to break the eye contact. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Jihyo,” Nayeon teased, still not looking her way.

“I can't seem to get anywhere with you.”

Nayeon sighed and buried her head into the cushion of the couch. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say before pushing her face in deeper. The tips of her ears were beet red and her knuckles were clenched tight.

“Momo said that you might be scared that I'll hurt you...or something....” Jihyo's voice trailed off in fear but she shook it away. Nothing would get solved if the both of them were refusing to speak. “I don't want you to think that. I want you to know that I care about you a lot and that I'm not going to hurt you.”

The older girl turned her head slightly to peek out with one eye. “You can't be sure of that,” she mumbled, her voice muffled by the cushion. 

“Then I'll try my hardest not to.” Jihyo shifted herself closer and leaned into couch to where her face was mere centimeters away from Nayeon's. “Please believe me.”

They were so close and Jihyo felt almost overwhelmed by how badly she just wanted to hold Nayeon. When she was finally allowed to look into both of her brown eyes, Jihyo pushed her face in closer to where their foreheads touched and their breaths mixed making the air warm.

“Please,” she repeated. A little more desperately this time.

Nayeon's face scrunched up into an embarrassed smile. “Fine, fine,” she relented. “Stop being cute.”

“Be my girlfriend first, and I'll think about it.” Jihyo’s voice was confident again, but her heart was pounding against her chest. Nayeon would have to answer her now. Their close proximity and tight embrace prevented her from dashing away like before and Jihyo wasn't leaving without a definite yes or no.

The older girl didn't give Jihyo a verbal reply; just smiled and pulled her face in by her cheeks for a kiss.

\--

The house was a lot quieter without Seoyeon.

Jeongyeon could hear the sound of her oldest sister rustling through the kitchen while the tv played in the background at a low volume. Usually, Seoyeon's voice would be traveling through the house as well, but now that she had moved in with her new husband, it was just the two of them.

Seungyeon redirected her attention from the fridge to her sister at the sound of her coming around the corner. “Hey, good morning,” she smiled.

“Hey,” Jeongyeon said while pulling out a chair to sit at the table. “Can I ask you for something?”

Her sister shrugged and nodded. “Sure, what's up?”

“I was wondering if I could borrow one of your skirts today.”

Seungyeon snorted. “Since when do you wear skirts?”

“I have a date or whatever later and I wanted to look nice. That's all.” She did her best to sound nonchalant about it but her face was starting to get warm and her fingers picked at each other under the table. 

Her sister's attention was all on her now. Seungyeon’s eyes were lit up and and crinkled from the smile on her face. “Oh, a date? With who?”

“Lee Hongbin. From the wedding, remember?”

Seungyeon blinked and though she was still smiling she didn't look as excited as she had been when Jeongyeon first brought up the date. “A guy?” she asked lightly, tilting her head.

Jeongyeon shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Of course a guy. Who else would I go out on a date with? A horse?”

Her sister's smile was gone, and, telling from her attitude, Jeongyeon instantly regretted saying anything. “I don’t know, Jeongyeon. You tell me.”

“Look, if you're not going to let me borrow your clothes, it's fine-”

“They're in my dresser,” Seungyeon interrupted. “Have fun.”

Jeongyeon did her best to ignore the irritation in her sister's voice. She had no reason to be upset with her for going on a date. In fact, for the past few months since school had ended, she had done no thing but harass Jeongyeon to go out and make friends. Apparently Hongbin wasn't the kind of friend she wanted for her sister.

Lee Hongbin was as nice as they came. He was very polite to Jeongyeon and texted her daily which satisfied her embarrassing need for attention. They went to the community college together and he'd drive her home after classes. She had to give him props for actually going through with getting to know her. Even if the nagging thought that he only felt like a friend and nothing more would constantly appear at the back of her head.

Finally, during one of their drives home, he asked her if he could take her out to lunch as an actual date. Jeongyeon figured it couldn't be any more different than how they usually hang out, and she definitely wasn't about to turn down free food. So she agreed.

But her sister was right. She didn't wear skirts and picking one out from the drawer was almost impossible. They all seemed too short or too frilly and Jeongyeon had to remind herself that this was how skirts were supposed to be. And if she wanted to look like a girl this was what she had to wear.

She almost didn't want to go on this date because of how much effort she had to put into it. The temptation to just text Hongbin and cancel was too strong. Especially when she remembered the dates she had with Jihyo, which she didn't want to think about either. 

But it was hard not to think about them and how comfortable she was. Of course she felt nervous beforehand, but whenever she saw Jihyo, the nervousness would go away. She didn't have to worry about looking overly cute or girly. And she definitely didn't have to wear a skirt.

Thinking about Jihyo was starting to get more depressing and made the skirt picking process more difficult than it should be. Jeongyeon picked out the simplest black skirt and hurried back to her room to change.

When Hongbin finally arrived in front of her driveway, Jeongyeon had given up on trying to make her skirt and blouse combo fit more comfortably. Not wanting to risk the possibility of her sister making a comment about her outfit, Jeongyeon quickly said goodbye and bolted out of the front door.

Hongbin had cut his long hair and he looked comfortable in his loose-fitting jeans and white t-shirt. He smiled when he looked up from his phone and saw Jeongyeon walking towards his car.

“Hey,” he smiled. “You look nice. The skirt suits you well.”

“Yeah? I was a little worried, to be honest.”

Hongbin shook his head and opened the passenger side door for Jeongyeon to get in. “No need to be worried. You're beautiful.”

Jeongyeon smiled as he closed the door behind her and tried to ignore the twinge of apprehension in the pit of her stomach. It was so obvious that Hongbin liked her and he treated her as nicely as anyone ever could. So why wasn't she feeling the way Jihyo had made her feel? Why did she have to compare everything and everyone to fucking Park Jihyo?

Shoving her thoughts aside, Jeongyeon focused on whatever Hongbin was saying. Not every love has to be the same, and holding on to Jihyo, who was likely never coming back, was unhealthy. It had been months since they broke up, and Jeongyeon wasn't about to be the one who couldn't move on.

The restaurant her date took them to was in the closest city over. Jeongyeon rarely went there, only to occasionally go to the shopping mall, so she had no idea what to expect. Hongbin seemed to know what he was doing and she had to admit that the spontaneity was exciting.

“This place has the best Korean food,” he said while looking over the menu. “At least, for a place in the city.”

Jeongyeon hummed in response and looked over her options. She found it somewhat hard to focus on anything. The restaurant was nice and the food looked good, but this was the first time she had ever been in such an intimate space with just her and Hongbin. Whenever they hung out before, it was always a friendly setting. Not a quiet and dimly lit Korean restaurant with traditional ballads playing over the speakers inside of a plush and secluded booth.

When the waitress brought out the soju and water, she said her thanks and immediately took back a shot from her small, clear glass.

“Is everything alright, Jeongyeon?”

Hongbin’s voice had pulled her out of her dazed state of trying to avoid eye contact. “Hm? Yes, of course. I just… didn't sleep well last night.” It wasn't a complete lie. Sleep no longer came easy to her anymore. “Sorry if I seem a little out of it.”

Her date didn't seemed wholly convinced, but he nodded and started talking about his stepsister Tzuyu, which Jeongyeon only partially paid attention to. 

She felt bad for not being completely engaged but the close space and feeling of her legs being exposed from her skirt was causing too many distractions. Jeongyeon hardly noticed when the food came out. Hongbin seemed to be enjoying himself, meaning that this date was only going bad for Jeongyeon.

By the time they had finished eating, the sky had gotten darker and the temperature had dropped with the early signs of fall. Of course, all Jeongyeon needed was another reason to hate her skirt. The wind nipped at her calves and she cursed herself for not canceling this date when she had the chance.

“Are you cold?” Hongbin asked before pulling her in close and wrapping his arms around her as they walked to the car. “Sorry, I, uh, didn't bring a jacket.”

Jeongyeon looked up at him and noticed the slight blush dusting his cheeks. It made her heart sink. “Thank you,” she mumbled quietly. Here she was wishing the date would end while Hongbin was simply enjoying her company.

The ride home was quiet and warm and it was probably unladylike, but Jeongyeon kept toying with the hem of her skirt. It was hard to face the fact that everything had gone textbook definition perfect, yet she was the one who ruined it for herself. 

Her heart wanted her to blame Jihyo for all of it. For setting an unrealistic standard that probably no one could ever reach. For coming into her life and leaving just like that. But she knew that the blame was all on her for lying to herself and for letting things get this far with someone who actually liked her in a way she could never reciprocate.

When they finally pulled into Jeongyeon's driveway, her lips burned with the words she had been mulling over the entire car ride.

“Hongbin, this date was amazing and you're a great guy, but-”

“But you don't like me.” His words were firm and resolved, but not angry in any way. “I figured. For a while now.”

Jeongyeon blinked and bowed her head. “I'm so sorry. I just. I think I love someone else. I think I love… this girl…” Her own voice sounded foreign but it felt as if she had finally released a breath that she had been holding for so long. 

Hongbin pulled her into a tight hug and she sighed in relief. “Good luck,” he said after a few seconds. “I'll always see you as a good person and an even better friend.”

She smiled and nodded her thanks before leaving the car and wiping away at her eyes. Jeongyeon was never much of a crier, but so many emotions at once probably deserved a few tears.

Finally making it back home, Jeongyeon discarded her shoes at the entrance and sunk to the floor with her back against the front door. She had lost count of how many times she'd sighed in relief in the past hour. 

At that instant, Seungyeon had rounded the corner from the living room and stared at her sister in confusion. “Hey… How was the date?”

Jeongyeon shrugged. “I think I messed up.”

Her older sister made her way over and sat beside her. She was a lot more careful than Jeongyeon, who had her legs splayed out on the floor. “I'm sure it wasn't that bad,” she said passing her sister the mug of tea she had in her hands. 

“It wasn't,” Jeongyeon sighed. “The date was perfect. And that's the problem.”

Seongyeon blinked in confusion. “I'm not following. The date was perfect but you messed up?”

“I think… I think I'm in love with Jihyo,” she mumbled. She paused, waiting for her sister to react, but when she didn't, Jeongyeon continued. “Or I'm still in love with her. And I couldn't even give Hongbin a chance.”

They sat on the floor quietly for what was probably a few seconds but felt like hours. If Seongyeon was mad or disgusted in anyway, she would have already stated her opinion. She wasn't one to keep her thoughts hidden. 

"Well," Seungyeon finally replied. "I definitely think it's a good idea to at least try and get some closure with Jihyo. But I wouldn't be surprised if you don't get any. And you know, it's not your fault that you can't like Hongbin the way he wants."

"Perhaps you're right," Jeongyeon sighed. "You aren't mad at me?"

Her sister pulled Jeongyeon in for a tight hug and she was reminded of when she was small and Seungyeon had stepped up to the plate of raising her and Seoyeon. Even though she took on the role of a parental figure, Jeongyeon always saw her as a caring older sister.

"I could never be mad at you, Jeongyeon," Seungyeon murmured. "I just want you to happy. And to never lie to me again." Her voice was sincere, but also teasing and Jeongyeon wondered why she kept something so important from the person who cared for her the most. And why she kept something so important from herself as well.

But it was also possible that it was too late to admit the truth to Jihyo.

\--

Jihyo dreamed of Jeongyeon that night. 

The short haired girl was high up in an apple tree. Jihyo couldn't see her face, but she could notice her skin and toned legs from anywhere.

"Come on slowpoke," Jeongyeon teased. "Meet me at the top and I'll give you a kiss." She climbed up higher, leaving Jihyo behind.

"Slow down you monkey," Jihyo laughed. She felt so free in the tangle of beaches and leaves. The air of the country was so much more cleaner than in Seoul and her lungs filled up with the smell of nature. She climbed up after her girlfriend, the muscles in her face slightly sore for smiling too much. "Wait for me! You know I can't climb as fast as you."

But Jeongyeon didn't slow down. She climbed higher and higher, trying to reach the top of the apple tree. The only problem was, no matter how hard Jihyo squinted, she couldn't see the sky or where the tree ended. 

"How tall is this tree?" Jihyo shouted up, but Jeongyeon gave no reply. She just kept climbing and laughing and promising kisses and Jihyo wanted nothing more than to look at her face and kiss the lips she had been missing for so long.

"Jeongyeon, please," she cried as she climbed after the girl. But her hand slipped as she grabbed at the next branch, and the last thing she remembered was falling and screaming. 

She jolted awake in a bed that wasn't hers with heavy breathing. The haze of her dream hadn't left her yet and she confusedly reached around and upward in the bed.

It was then she noticed a quiet murmuring of her name and a warm presence next to her.

'Jeongyeon. Of course.' She had to have been with the girl now and the dream of her climbing up the tree was nothing more than that. A dream. Jihyo pulled herself in closer to the warm body and wrapped her arms around Jeongyeon's figure.

But something was wrong.

Jeongyeon wasn't this soft and small.

"Nayeon." Jihyo sighed quietly and pressed her face into Nayeon's bare chest. The haze from her dream had finally lifted and the memories of where she was and how she got there came rushing back.

"Are you okay?" Nayeon pulled Jihyo's body in closer. While she felt comforted by Nayeon's embrace, she couldn't help but feel disappointed that she wasn't Jeongyeon.

Jihyo pushed the thought aside and tightened her grip on her actual girlfriend's body. "Yeah. I just had a... strange dream." She could feel tears building up in her eyes and blinked them away.

"I could tell. You were twitching and mumbling in your sleep." Nayeon's voice sounded concerned but also distant and her eyes bored into Jihyo's. "Is everything alright? You can tell me anything, you know."

She nodded and and ignored the the tug of guilt in her chest. "I'm fine. It was just a dream." Jihyo ran her fingers along Nayeon's naked figure, calming herself with the soft noises the other girl released whenever she pressed in certain areas. 

Jeongyeon and Nayeon were so different. From the way they felt to the way they kissed, Jihyo had felt like she was thrown from fire into ice. 

She wasn't really sure which she preferred.

“I can make us something to eat, then,” Nayeon murmured before kissing the top of Jihyo's head. “I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep anyway.”

Jihyo dipped her under the thick pink blanket of her girlfriend's bed. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“It's not a problem at all, love. I'm more concer-”

“NAYEON, WAKE UP,” a voice interrupted, traveling from the front room of the apartment into the quiet of Nayeon's bedroom. “IT’S AN EMERGENCY!”

Jihyo jerked her head in shock to face her girlfriend, but the red haired girl seemed unfazed and almost annoyed.

“That's just Sana. And it probably isn't any kind of emergency,” she explained before sliding out of the bed to put on clothes. “I'll still make us food, but I better go see what she wants.”

She nodded silently and stared after her girlfriend as she shouted about how the spare key she had given Sana and Momo was for serious emergencies only. The door shut behind her and Jihyo sighed into her pillow.

There was no denying that she had been disappointed when she found out that Nayeon wasn't Jeongyeon after fully waking up. The thought that she didn't want her own girlfriend scared her more than her missing Jeongyeon. She had made a promise not to hurt Nayeon, but was loving someone who she'd never see again really going to hurt her?

Jihyo didn't want to think about it anymore, and the longer she stayed cooped up in bed would only give Nayeon more reason to think something was wrong. 

After washing her face and putting on her clothes from the night before, she made her way into the living room where the other girls were.

Immediately after stepping into their line of sight, Sana leaped up and embraced Jihyo in a hug that had sent them both stumbling. 

“Jihyo! You missed the important announcement!” the girl beamed. Her face was pulled up in a wide smile, so any “emergency” she had mentioned earlier wasn't something dangerous.

“What's the announcement?” she asked returning Sana's hug. Nayeon scoffed from in the kitchen and Momo rolled her eyes from her seat at the table.

Sana didn't notice her friends’ annoyance, or, if she did, she payed them no mind. “I've fallen in love,” she swooned. Her dramatics only amplified as she slumped into Jihyo's embrace sighing happily.

“Oh, um, that's nice,” Jihyo replied warily. She wasn't entirely sure on whether or not she was supposed to take this seriously. “Who are you in love with?”

Momo gave an answer before Sana could even breathe. “Some girl she doesn't even know and just met yesterday.” Her tone was obviously annoyed. Sana must have been talking about this girl nonstop for the usually cheery Momo to be upset.

“I do know her!” Sana shouted indignantly. “Her name is Kim Dahyun and we bonded!”

“Is that what they call bonding these days?” Momo rolled her eyes. “All you did was flirt with her during our World Religions’ lecture while she was clearly uncomfortable.” 

“Then why did she give me her number at the end, hm? You're just mad because she took your seat.”

“There are unspoken lecture hall rules you just don't break and changing seats is one of them!”

“As interesting as this all sounds,” Nayeon interrupted loudly from the kitchen. “I fail to see how this was an emergency that required you too storming into my apartment.”

Sana and Momo were quiet then, looking at each other and the ground and anywhere that wasn't Nayeon.

“Give them a break, Nayeon,” Jihyo said while sliding into the seat across from Momo. “We have been cooped up in here all weekend studying.”

“Studying,” Momo sighed. “There's just new words for everything these days.”

“I'm trying to stick up for you here, don't get smart.” Jihyo huffed.

Sana, on the other hand, wrapped her arms appreciatively around Jihyo from behind. “Yeah, Nayeon! While you've been busy studying your girlfriend we've missed you!”

“Studying WITH my girlfriend,” Nayeon corrected. She still sounded annoyed, but her heart-shaped smile was obvious. “I've missed you guys too, I guess.”

“Geez, Nayeon, why can't you be nice like Jihyo?” Momo groaned.

“Yeah, she's way too good for you,” Sana agreed, tightening her grip around Jihyo.

Jihyo could only smile in response. Despite the praise, she had never felt more guilty in her life. Jihyo wasn't too good for Nayeon. In fact, it was the other way around. While her girlfriend made her breakfast, she was too busy thinking about Jeongyeon and if the other girl thought of her too. When Jihyo dreamed of someone else, Nayeon was there to take care of her when she woke up. 

“Hey, Jihyo, are you okay?” Momo interrupted her spiral of guilt and she noticed that everyone was looking at her with concern.

“Nayeon told us you weren't feeling well, is it that?”

Jihyo pulled herself back into the conversation. “Yeah. I think I just need to clear my head. Sorry.” Her voice was more curt than she had intended and she silently cursed herself for being so rude. 

Brushing off concerned friends and thinking of someone other than her girlfriend. Jihyo was the person of the year for sure.

She left the front room and made her way to Nayeon's bathroom to rinse her face and steady her thoughts. 

When she lifted her head up to face the mirror after the last splash of water, her girlfriend's reflection stared back at her; arms folded and face emotionless.

“Is it Jeongyeon?”

Jihyo could feel her blood turn cold. The pounding in her ears blocked out any sound, but she could just barely make out her reply. “How do you know about her?”

“You called me her name last night and this morning.” Nayeon's arms were now at her sides and her hands were balled into tight fists. “Park Jihyo, are you fucking cheating on me?”

“NO!” Jihyo could keep herself from shouting and reaching her hands out toward her girlfriend, but part of her was jerked away when Nayeon did moved from her grasp. “I would never cheat on you, ever!”

“Then who the fuck is Jeongyeon, because you seem to be fucking her whenever I think you're with me,” Nayeon replied coldly. Her voice was getting progressively louder and Jihyo shrinks back. She had never seen the girl so angry and it was also possible that Sana and Momo could hear them.

And they were Nayeon's friends before they were Jihyo's. 

There was no way she could be in the right on this.

“She… was my girlfriend before I came here,” Jihyo confessed. “We broke up badly and I've just been thinking about her lately, that's all, I swear.”

Nayeon laughed, but it wasn't the warm and uplifting ones Jihyo had grown used to. This laugh was cold and sarcastic and ugly. “This is all about some high school crush then? I'm in competition with some bitch you haven't spoken to in a year?!”

“Nayeon, please, it's not like tha-”

“YOU asked ME out but you were still stuck on your ex!” The older girl was now shouting and her face was almost as red as her hair. “Thank you, Jihyo, for wasting my fucking time.”

Jihyo's legs shook and threatened to give way beneath her. It was hard to reply with heavy breathing and blurry vision. No one had ever been this mad at her, not even Jeongyeon. 

And it hurt more that even when she was being called out, she still compared Nayeon to her ex.

“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this…,” she took a deep breath before continuing. “I do love you, Nayeon. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Nayeon's face was probably just as wet as hers, but she stood there, resolved and unwavering. “I think you should go.”

It was hard to muster up the strength to walk past Nayeon and her tear filled eyes. To not be able to comfort one of the few people she cared about the most. So instead of walking, she ran. 

Jihyo could hear the indistinguishable shouts of Sana and Momo after her, but she ignored them as she threw herself out of the door.

She ran far from the apartment and refused to stop until the pounding of her shoes on the concrete decided to wear her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after i started writing this i got really invested in nahyo so this was kind of hard to write lol 
> 
> once i finish this i might do a separate nahyo fic where they're happy and gay together <3


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